Some R80,000 worth of paintings by top KZN artists Di Erasmus and Anton Benzon and the white Citi Golf in which the paintings were being transported, were stolen on Saturday afternoon from Westdene, Johannesburg.

The artists are devastated by the huge loss of such a volume of work. This includes 40 mostly-framed paintings by Di Erasmus and 16 unframed paintings by Anton Benzon. They were en-route to exhibit their work when the theft occurred. Di was to exhibit at Zoo Lake and Anton was taking his paintings to his Johannesburg agent.

The artists - who are based on the lower South Coast - are wanting to get word out as widely as possible about the paintings as they anticipate that the thieves may try and sell the work to galleries and shops. A reward of R2,000 is being offered for the return of the paintings.

Di’s work are mainly of water scenes, landscapes and florals. Anton’s are of landscapes and Cape cottages. In particular there is one large sea scape.

Their car is a white Citi Golf 14i with the registration of NPS 17076. They can be contacted on 082 495 9810 or 082 374 2137. Police and all appropriate authorities have been contacted and are helping with the search.